Guidelines for Application 2025
MEXT Scholarship Application
International Graduate Program

Graduate School ofBioresource and Bioenvironmental Sciences
Kyushu UniversityCONTENTS
1.

Study Areas

…

1

2.

Eligibility

…

1

3.

Duration of the MEXT scholarship

…

3

4.

Benefits of the MEXT scholarship

…

3

5.

Application Method

…

3

6.

Announcement of the Final Decision

…

6

7.

Notice…

68.

Remarks…

6

9.

Correspondence

…

7

10.

Contact Information…

7Requirements for MEXT and ADB Scholarships…

8Guidelines
1. Study Areas
The International Graduate Program of the Graduate School of Bioresource andBioenvironmental Sciences comprises four departments: (i) Bioresource Sciences, (ii) Agroenvironmental Sciences, (iii) Agricultural and Resource Economics, and (iv) Bioscience andBiotechnology.
For details of each department, please refer to(Bioresource Sciences)https://ag.kyushu-u.ac.jp/english/graduate_school/course/#01(Agro-environmental Sciences)https://ag.kyushu-u.ac.jp/english/graduate_school/course/#02(Agricultural and Resource Economics)
https://ag.kyushu-u.ac.jp/english/graduate_school/course/#03(Bioscience and Biotechnology)
https://ag.kyushu-u.ac.jp/english/graduate_school/course/#04.
The MEXT scholarship is a Scholarship of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science andTechnology, Japan; MEXT: Monbu-Kagaku Sho.
2. Eligibility(1) Nationality: Applicants must be nationals of a country that has diplomatic relations with the1Japanese government.
(2) Age Limit: Applicants must be under 35 years as of April 1st, 2025 (i.e., born after April 2nd, 1990).
(3) Academic Requirements(a) Doctoral course eligibility requirements:(ⅰ) Applicants who hold a master’s degree or expect to receive one from a university outside ofJapan by September 30th, 2025. Applicants who hold or expect to receive a master’s degree
awarded by a postgraduate course (program) taught in English in Japan are also eligible.
(ⅱ) Applicants who do not hold a master’s degree but have an equivalent or higher academic
attainment than individuals with a master’s degree*.
*Individual Evaluation of Academic Ability
Those who wish to apply under the above qualification (ii) are required toundergo an individual evaluation of their academic ability, as specified by the Individual Screeningof Requirements for Admission by the Graduate School of Bioresource and BioenvironmentalSciences, Kyushu University. First, they must notify the Student Affairs Division (agriigp@jimu.kyushu-u.ac.jp) and then send the required documentation (1), (2), (3), (4), (6), and (7)to the same e-mail address at the time of the online entry.
(4) Health: Candidates must be certified as healthy both physically and mentally by a qualified andrecognized physician.
(5) Language: Nonnative English speakers must possess a sufficiently high official English score by aqualified body, namely TOEFL, TOEIC, IELTS, or Cambridge Certificate (the applicant’s scores
must be attached).
(6) Time of Arrival: Students must arrive in Japan before September 30th, 2025.
(7) Others:
All expenses incurred by the presence of dependents must be borne by the grantee. Applicants
are advised to take into consideration the various difficulties and great expense that will beinvolved in finding living quarters for them. Therefore, those who want to accompany theirfamilies are well advised to come alone first and let them come after suitable accommodation
has been found.
MEXT Scholarship Applicants:
1) Military personnel and civilian military employees are ineligible while on active duty or still inemployment.

22) Candidates who do not arrive by the above date will be subject to scholarship cancellation.
3) Persons already receiving financial support for study from other groups or organizations are
not eligible.
4) Students who have received a MEXT scholarship (including SGU (Top Global UniversityProject)) within the past three years must wait at least another three years before becoming
eligible for this course and must have at least three years of academic or work experienceduring this period. This does not apply to those who have obtained a degree as undergraduate
students whilst receiving a MEXT scholarship (University recommendation/special selection).
5) Applicants who fail to receive a master’s degree by September 30th, 2025, will be subject toscholarship cancellation.
6) The status of residence must be "Student". For those whose current status of residence is not“Student,” applicants must change their status of residence to "Student" at the local
Immigration Services Agency in Japan by the time of their registration as students at Kyushu
University.
3. Duration of the MEXT scholarship
Doctoral course: Three years, from October 2025 to September 2028.
4. Benefits of the MEXT scholarship(1) A monthly stipend of 145,000JPY and additional stipend for designated area for the doctoral course.
The stipend amount is subject to changes depending on the annual budget. The stipend will besuspended during periods of leave, absence, or when the student remains off-campus for prolonged
periods of time without authorization.
(2) Travel Expenses(a) Inbound travel: an economy class air ticket from the international airport closest to the student’s
home to Fukuoka International Airport.
(b) Return travel: an economy class air ticket from Fukuoka International Airport to the international
airport closest to the departing student’s home, or the equivalent amount of cash will be provided
to those leaving after the scholarship period but before the expiry of the time limit designated byMEXT.
* Travel insurance fees for both inbound and return trips are to be paid by the student.
* Travel expenses will not be paid for those successful candidates who are already in Japan at thetime of application.
(3) Fees for the entrance examination, admission, and tuition will be waived.
Selection Procedure for MEXT scholarship Applicants
1) Kyushu University will select applicants based on their application documents andqualifications.
2) Based on the recommendations made by Kyushu University, MEXT will then screen andauthorize the admission of applicants.
Applicants will be notified of the final decision by mid-July 2025. Successful applicants will beenrolled as full-time graduate students.
5. Application Method(1) Submission of the Online Entry Form (https://forms.office.com/r/y5gNwcyW1w)
The Online Entry Form must arrive between November 1st and November 30th, 2024 in order tohave your submission processed.

3

Our secure Online Entry Form is available only between November 1st and November 30th, 2024,
23:59 (Japan time).
*The online entry periods are subject to change.
Applicants must contact their potential supervisor well in advance of filling out the entry form.
More information is available athttps://ag.kyushu-u.ac.jp/english/international_exchange/how_to_apply/index.html(2) An online interview or oral examination (personal interview, phone call, or video call) by thepotential supervisor will be performed. If the interview cannot be conducted in one of the forms
described professors from the educational course will conduct an interview via e-mail.
(3) After the online interview or oral examination, only successful applicants will be contacted by thepotential supervisor via e-mail, who will provide the required documentation for the officialapplication. If you do not hear from the potential supervisor by December 18th, 2024, you should
assume that your application has been unsuccessful.

(4) Submission of the application documents in full to your potential supervisor:
Applicants who pass the online interview/oral examination must submit all of the documents listedon the List of Required Documents to the potential supervisor. All of the documents should bedelivered to the Student Affairs Division by the potential supervisor no later than January 10th,2025.
(5) Only successful candidates for the Scholarship will be notified by the Student Affairs Division by lateFebruary 2025.
NOTE
You must send the required documents to your potential supervisor well in advance of this date togive your supervisor ample time to review and forward these documents to the Student Affairs
Division. Please ask your potential supervisor about his/her preferred deadline.

List of Required Documents
If you pass the screening by the online entry and the online interview or oral examination, yourpotential supervisor will provide you with the forms needed to complete the documents listed below.
(1) Completed Application Form (use the form supplied by the potential supervisor)* Both a paper document and a Word file are required.
* Please print both sides of the page for the paper document.
(2) Completed Field of Study and Study Program Form (use the form supplied by the potentialsupervisor).
* Both paper documents and a Word file are required.
* Please print both sides of the page for the paper document.

4(3) Diploma or certificate of graduation or completion (*Refer to “NOTES 3”)
For doctoral course applicants, a Bachelor’s Degree Certificate and a Master’s Degree
Certificate are required. If applicants are currently in school and working toward obtaining therelevant degree(s), a certified letter from the applicant’s university stating the expectedgraduation date is required.
(4) Official Academic Transcript (*Refer to “NOTES 3”) of all applicable undergraduate andgraduate course work from the university/universities to which the applicant belongs/belonged.
Submission of academic records with grade point averages (GPA) or quality points (A, B, C,or Excellent, Good, Average, etc.) along with academic rank order and a description of theacademic grading system (e.g., A: 90% above) is required. If the academic rank order of thecandidate among his/her peers is not mentioned in the transcript, it has to be elaborated in theRecommendation Form 1.
(5) Two Letters of Recommendation (Please download these forms at https://ag.kyushuu.ac.jp/international_exchange/how_to_apply/index.html)
Recommendation Form 1 addressed to the President of Kyushu University must be completed
by the Dean (or above) of the university or institution/employing body to which the applicantbelongs/belonged. Recommendation Form 2 addressed to the Dean of Graduate School of
Bioresource and Bioenvironmental Sciences, Kyushu University must be completed by asupervising professor, another member of the teaching staff, or a workplace supervisor whoknows the applicant personally. Each letter must be provided in an envelope sealed by therecommender to ensure confidentiality. Applicants who are a degree-student in Graduate
School of Bioresource and Bioenvironmental Sciences, Kyushu University, at the time ofapplication are exempt from this requirement.
(6) A 2-page Summary of undergraduate/MA thesis in English on A4-size paper. Copies ofany academic publications in English can also be included with the thesis summary.
Applicants not required to submit a thesis to complete their bachelor’s/master’s degree muststate this on their application and submit a copy of any academic research papers they havewritten instead.
(7) Certificate of one of the following official English qualifications: TOEFL, TOEIC(bothListening and Reading Test and Speaking ＆ Writing Test must be submitted), IELTS, or
the Cambridge Certificate (*Refer to “NOTES 3”), taken within the two years preceding theapplication deadline. Applicants who are native English speakers are exempt from thisrequirement. Online score reports are not acceptable. It sometimes takes as long as two months
for a score report to reach us after your order, so please make sure to allow sufficient time.
Every year some applications are not accepted due to the delayed arrival of their scores. If you
do not have these scores, please either take the exam and obtain new scores before you applyor submit a certificate issued by your university that proves you have completed a previous
course of study with English as the primary language instead. However, we strongly recommend
you submit a valid English score, not a certificate issued by the university.
(8) Completed Pledge Form (use form supplied by the potential supervisor)5(9) Certificate of Nationality or Proof of Residence in the applicant’s home country (e.g., census
register, passport (photocopy), or other positive proof of nationality).
(10) A photograph (4.5 × 3.5 cm), front-facing without a hat, and taken within the past six months
before the application deadline. The photo must be affixed to the specified area on theapplication form. The name and nationality of the applicant must be written on the reverse sideof the photograph.
NOTES1) All required documents should be typewritten in English and of uniform size (A4 format).
2) Applications will not be accepted if any of the required documents are missing, incorrectly
completed, or lacking supporting evidence. Applications will not be considered if the documents
arrive after the abovementioned deadlines.
3) In principle, original documentation or transcripts should be submitted. Further, no submitted
documents will be returned. However, if your original documentation or transcripts cannot bereissued, you may submit a photocopy of the documentation or transcripts with a statement of“certified true copy” or “attested” by the institution/organization administration office along withthe official seal.
4) Documents 1, 2, 5, and 8 must be provided on the forms supplied.
5)

In principle, all documents should be in English or Japanese. If some of the necessary
documents are unavailable in English or Japanese, contact the Student Affairs Division (agriigp@jimu.kyushu-u.ac.jp) with the details, and they will send instructions on how to proceed.

6. Announcement of the Final Decision
Successful applicants will be notified of the final decision via e-mail in early-July.
7. Notice(1) Payment of the MEXT scholarship to an enrolled student will be terminated if:(a) Any of the information supplied with the application is later found to be false. Admission insuch a case can be canceled at any time after enrollment.
(b) The pledge to MEXT is broken.
(c) Disciplinary action is taken, or the faculty judges the student unable to continue the program.
(2) The Entrance Examination Fee (30,000JPY), Admission Fee (282,000JPY), and Tuition Fee(535,800JPY/year) will be waived for MEXT scholarship students.
8. Remarks(1) E-mail/telephone inquiries regarding screening results will not be answered.
(2) All applicants should note that they are required to keep in close contact with their potential
supervisor at Kyushu University to formulate a research plan.
(3) Successful applicants are expected to study and gain an understanding of the geography, climate,customs, and habits of Japan, as well as the general features and conditions of Kyushu University.

6(4) In principle, a change of department and laboratory is not permitted after your application is receivedby the university. Therefore, you need to make a careful consideration of research themes for theselection of the department and the laboratory before applying.
9. Correspondence
All application-related correspondence should be sent via registered airmail such as DHL, FedEx,
OCS, or EMS, to the following address:(Write your potential supervisor’s name)Graduate School of Bioresource and Bioenvironmental Sciences
Kyushu University
744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan
Note that the full set of documents should be sent to the potential supervisor by his/her stated deadline.
10. Contact Information
Student Affairs Division
Graduate School of Bioresource and Bioenvironmental Sciences
Kyushu University
744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan
E-mail: agri-igp@jimu.kyushu-u.ac.jp

7Requirements for MEXT and ADB Scholarships:
Differences between ADB and MEXT Scholarships
ADB Scholarship

MEXT Scholarship

Master’s courses

Doctoral courses

At least TWO years required

Not required

Age limitation

Born after January 15th, 1990

Born after April 2nd, 1990

Current residency

Applicant’s home country

No restriction

Income limitation

Applied

N/A

Not allowed

N/A

DegreeBachelor’s degree holders

Bachelor’s and master’s degree

requirement

onlyholders

Scholarshipcoverage
Full-time working
experience

Overseas study
experience

Requirement uponcourse completion

Immediate return to yourhome country after completionof your expected degree(s)8N/A